Perspectives on Parkinson's

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PDF Contributing Author:

Robin Elliott

Bio

Robin Elliott has led the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, Inc. (PDF) since October 1996. In the last 17 years, Mr. Elliott’s vision has ushered in a new age for PDF, fortifying PDF’s programs of research, education and advocacy for the Parkinson’s community. Under his leadership, the professional staff has grown from just four full-time employees to more than 20 and the PDF budget has more than tripled, rising from $2.7 million in 1996 to over $10 million in fiscal year 2013. To learn more about Mr. Elliott, see his full biography at www.pdf.org/bio_elliott.

Articles by this Author:

How do we capture rising stars in science and encourage them to focus their attention on Parkinson’s? This is a question that PDF — in its quest to help solve, treat and end PD — has been evaluating since its creation 60 years ago. In fact, PDF’s focus on catching rising stars in PD is the reason why we have prioritized funding for the training of early-career neurologists — more than 100 of them over the years — in PD research and care. It is also the reason we have supported the research of more than 250 early-career basic scientists over the same… Read More

A year or so after President Obama personally announced his signature initiative to create a public-private partnership to improve our understanding of the infrastructure of the human brain, the White House convened 250 of us to hear a report card and plans on progress to date. I was invited — wearing my two hats as President of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and Chair of the American Brain Coalition — to attend the September 30 meeting, along with other leaders of the multi-million dollar effort, including those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) neurology and mental health institutes, neuroscientists, industry reps, professional… Read More

The media response to the tragic suicide of the gifted actor Robin Williams has included much speculation about a possible connection between his recent diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, or the medicines used to treat it, with the depression that apparently prompted him to take his life. At the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, we are not privy to the details of his diagnosis, or the prescriptions he may have used to treat it. Nor do we have any information about any other drugs he is rumored to have used, or whether these may have contributed to his depression.

This Thursday will be a very special day for the Parkinson’s community: the debut of The Michael J. Fox show, a new TV comedy series starring the eponymous TV newscaster who lives with Parkinson’s disease. Michael has done so much to help this community — through the foundation he created, of course, but also by simply giving a “face” to Parkinson’s around the world. It is no exaggeration to say that he has transformed the way we look at PD and the people who live with it, and the level of urgency we all feel to bring resources to bear… Read More

Have you ever been part of a Parkinson’s research study? This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, PDF says thank you for helping to bring about better treatments at a faster pace. After all, the only way that new treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s can be found is by ordinary people taking the extraordinary step of volunteering in studies.

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), introduced him as the “Scientist in Chief.” And he introduced himself as “the kid who had trouble with high-school physics.” But there was no mistaking the passion for his subject of the man who stood in front of us in the East Room of the White House this morning, announcing a major federal initiative in brain science. It was President Obama at his rhetorical best, mixing easy banter with a deeply serious expression of his commitment to the brain research initiative that he described as the “next great American… Read More